hot spice of the taste of his mouth and tongue.
This was the loving warm kiss she had never known. The connection between them was part of it, but this went beyond friendship and common interests.
This was a kiss to signal the start of something new. The kind of kiss where each of them was opening up their most intimate secrets and deepest feelings for the other person to see.
The heat, the intensity, the desire of this man was all there, exposed for her to see when she eventually opened her eyes and broke the connection. Shuddering. Trembling.
Then he pulled away, the faint stubble on his chin grazing across her mouth, as he lifted his face to kiss her eyes, brow and temple.
It took a second for her to catch her breath before she felt able to open her eyes, only to find Scott was still looking at her, his forehead pressed against hers. A smile warmed his face as he moved his hand down to stroke her cheek.
He knew. He knew the effect that his kiss was having on her body. Had to. Her face burned with the heat coming from the point of contact between them. His heart was racing, just as hers was.
‘Is that the way you usually silence women who ask you tough questions?’ Toni asked, aiming to keep her voice casual and light as she tried to catch her breath. And failing.
He simply smiled a little wider in reply, one side of his mouth turning up more than the other, before he answered in a low whisper. ‘I save it for emergencies. And for when I need to answer tough questions.’
Scott pulled back and looked at her, eye to eye. ‘You have to know that it is killing me to even think about leaving you here when I head back to Alaska, but that is where I belong. Freya will be back tomorrow to help me with the cleaning and organising the media companies and she’s happy to do it, but she doesn’t need me, Toni. There is no work for me here. You deserve a lot better than a part-time lover.’
He was nuzzling the side of her head now, his lips moving over her brow and into her hair as she spoke. ‘Do I? I think that is the nicest thing that anyone has ever said to me.’
‘And I mean every word. Your life is here, where you have a brilliant future as an artist and photographer. I can see it now.’ His hand scrolled her name in the air. ‘Portraits by Antonia Baldoni. It is going to be magic. Who knows, I might even come and have my photograph taken.’
‘No need, Scott. I have all the photographs in the world. But they don’t come close to the real you.’
Scott rested his forehead on her for one more second before he stood back and held out his hand. ‘It’s been a delight working with you, Miss Baldoni. Good luck in your future career.’
Then he turned and strode away from her, back to the second floor and the sound of sawing wood and drilling. Leaving her sitting there in her smoky clothes and hair with a broken heart. Bereft and alone. And already missing him more than words could express.
Scott strolled into the boardroom at Elstrom in the bright March sunlight and was immediately leapt on by Freya, who gave him such a warm hug that all of his fears and apprehensions for this day instantly vanished.
Holding her at arm’s length, Scott moved his head slowly from side to side to check that they were the only two people in the room.
‘I know that Dad is still in Italy because I spoke to him this morning. But where have you hidden Travis? I thought his ugly face was bound to turn up at any boardroom meeting where money would be involved. Do I need to look under the table? That’s the only place he would be out of reach of my fist.’
‘Now don’t be like that,’ Freya scolded and wagged a finger at him. ‘Travis sent me a very sweet email yesterday, telling me that he had decided to leave Elstrom behind for good and move on to pastures new.’
Freya must have caught the look in his eyes because she gave him a quick nod. ‘Yes. That’s right. Travis has sold all of his shares. And no, before you ask, I don’t know who he sold them to. It certainly wasn’t anyone in the family because I asked around. So don’t give me that look. Who knows? It might be someone who has a real interest in the business. Think positive for once!’
‘Positive! Right. Well, I can’t say that I’m sorry to see him go. But I don’t like the idea that we have an unknown investor. That makes me nervous.’
Freya hooked her arm through the crook of Scott’s elbow and tugged him towards the back of the room.
‘Then here is something to put a smile on your face.’ She nervously licked her lips and Scott saw it.
‘What’s going on? I thought that you’d called me here for a board meeting?’
‘I have.’ Freya nodded. ‘With my office manager hat on, I can tell you that everything is going splendidly, the building is booked for the next two years with more enquiries coming in every day and the finances have never looked rosier. The full report is on your desk. There. Done. Now, on to much more exciting stuff.’
She stepped back and slowly angled her head towards the wall behind the head of the table. ‘Notice anything different?’
Scott rolled his shoulders back and followed her gaze, then blinked.
The full-length portrait of his uncle had been moved to the left, creating a gap which was occupied by a tall gold frame which matched the other portraits perfectly. What was inside the frame was covered by a plain grey dust sheet held up by a piece of tape, hiding the painting below.
It took a second for his brain to register what he was looking at.
‘Toni finished my painting. Wow. I wondered about that.’
‘Wonder no longer. That girl works fast! I have already seen it and paid the rest of her fee,’ Freya whispered, then stepped to one side and kissed him on the cheek. ‘This is your very own personal unveiling. Call me later. Love ya.’
With that, Freya swung her handbag over her shoulder and strolled casually out of the room, leaving him standing there with his back against the table, staring up at the dust sheet.
Something close to nerves ran across his shoulders. This was so ridiculous! This was only paint on canvas. Why did he need a personal viewing?
He took a couple of calming breaths. Who was he kidding? This was paint brushed on to one of her father’s canvases by the same clever fingers which had stroked his face and made him feel alive only a few weeks earlier. Until he blew it.
She had probably made him look like his grandfather. Complete with morning dress, sideburns and a handlebar moustache.
He deserved the worst.
Forcing the air from his lungs in one short blast, Scott tugged on the dust sheet and then gathered it up on to the floor.
Only then did he stand up, lift his chin and focus on the painting hanging on the wall in front of him.
What he saw took his breath away and Scott quickly pulled out a chair and collapsed down into it. Suddenly his legs were not quite as steady as they should be.
